TLDR: this petition is to support dave’s commutation application. He has changed his life and is not a danger to the community. He deserves a second chance to live and flourish in the rest of society. Please consider signing and offering a message of support. 
 
This petition is to gather support for the commutation application of David “dave rich” Richardson Jr, who was sentenced to life plus 224 years, when he was 20 years old. He is now 32. Although arguably not directly responsible, his actions contributed to the tragic death of a young woman. He feels immense regret and remorse for his actions and will forever extend his sympathies to those grieving the loss of their loved one. The details and intricacies of his case are, of course, important but are not necessarily correlated with this application. A commutation is not about the crimes that led to dave’s incarceration, rather it is a process that is concerned with dave’s suitability to re-enter the community.

The main takeaway of this application is that dave has changed his life. After experiencing a difficult childhood, he was going down a terrible path. Since his sentence 12 years ago, he has become a new man; he has become the person that we all should aspire to be. Rather than wallow and sit in self-pity, dave has pursued higher education, maintained well-respected employment and has been involved in and founded multiple community initiatives all whilst being confined to the prison walls. He is the epitome of “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”!  

To provide some detail, dave’s proudest achievement to date is that he completed his Associates degree in Political Science and is now pursuing a Bachelor's in Business Administration. He has just under 2 years left until this is completed but he is not stopping there. He intends to pursue a Master's degree and a Doctorate in something he is so passionate about: Anthropology. Dave has a thirst for knowledge and being able to complete these degrees outside of the prison walls means he would be able to participate fully in academia – for example, by attending conferences and networking with fellow scholars. Nonetheless, he has published essays in newspapers, is working on a book chapter project with one of his university professors and will continue to work hard with his pen.

Moreover, as mentioned, dave has maintained continuous employment whilst in prison, either voluntarily or paid. He worked in the industrial plant at his institution for a long while; a job that was extremely desired, not least because it was very well paying, at least by prison standards. Dave made the difficult decision to move from this employment to working in the gym because it aligns more with his immediate career goals in personal training. He, in the near future, will obtain his personal training qualification and would, one day, like to open a gym. The fact that he sacrificed a well-paying job for a job that is less than one-tenth of the wage is testament to dave’s convictions and prioritization of self-development over monetary gain.  

An important aspect of dave’s life is his faith. As with us all, there have been moments where this faith has been brought into question and he has felt disillusioned by his spiritual path. However, he was able to find comfort in God and is a proud member of his church and the Christian community. God and his spiritual life are a large motivating factor to wanting to do good in the world. He does a great job of this in the prison community already but deserves the chance to bring this outside of those walls, too.

Furthermore, dave, as with most incarcerated people, has a family and loved ones who are ready to welcome him home. His mother has worked tirelessly to support dave throughout the last 12 years. His sister is flourishing in her new career in computer engineering. His nephew was an infant when dave entered the prison system and is now approaching high school. In 2020 he began a relationship with a doctoral student from London and proposed to her on Christmas Eve 2021. Ever the romantic, dave hopes to marry his fiancé in the coming months and to start his own family in the future. He would love nothing more than to be able to experience more from his relationships with the comfort of home around him.

All in all, he has managed to hold down employment, take on multiple university degrees, contribute to his community by being on the “Lifer’s Club” committee, and founding and establishing new initiatives to help the incarcerated service users in the youth pod, all through the 2020 COVID pandemic, on top of being locked down as per daily institution regulations. His philanthropy has caught the attention of prison staff members who can see his potential, too. He has been personally invited by highly reputable prison staff to attend conferences in order to contribute to his community work inside prisons. Needless to say, he makes the most of every second of the day and every opportunity that comes his way. Dave has overcome adversity and some!  

He is funny, an avid artist and a mean basketballer. He is Big Brother's number one fan and reads Dragon Ball Super manga when he isn't reading "high class" literary criticism. It would be hard to find someone who said they did not enjoy his company. He is a kind, caring and considerate individual. All he wants to do is make a difference to the world and he has so much to give. Being a neurodivergent Black man, the world has been unaccommodating at best. He still has so much to achieve, and he has a chance now to find his place back in our society.

For dave, prison has done what it is supposed to do. The past 12 years have been challenging and tested every fibre of dave’s endurance and perseverance. But he has persevered, and he is a rehabilitated person. If he has managed to achieve all of this from inside the confines of prison, just imagine the ways he could contribute to real change if granted a commutation to do so?

During dave’s sentencing, Attorney General & Reporter Herbert H. Slatery III and Senior Counsel Criminal Appeals Division David H. Findley stated that “the record supports the conclusion that [dave] will always pose a threat to society” (25).  

I welcome you to read the facts of his case (Shelby Co. No, W2016-00174-CCA-R3-CD), then consider the man behind those facts. Consider the man I’ve described to you. Read all of the above and decide if you can still agree with their statement.  

At present, dave is in the preparation stage of the commutation process. What this means is that he is filling out the paperwork and gathering letters of recommendation from those who can vouch for him in personal and professional capacities. This petition will supplement these documentations to show that dave has the support of hopefully thousands of people.

If you feel so compelled, please help to bring dave home by sharing, signing and offering a small message of support. The more signatures there are, the more this becomes a public interest which encourages Governor Bill Lee to commute him. Without this commutation, dave will remain in prison for the rest of his life. Dave has big dreams to change the world, together we can help him do this; join him in his endeavours!

Thank you.